Roger Federer never ceases to amaze when it comes to tennis; he proves that you can never keep a great man down for long.
Just a year ago, things looked less than rosy for the sport's most successful ever man. Only one title was won in Halle, as such the elusive Grand Slam no.18 remained exactly that, and the emergence of Stanislas Wawrinka was leaving people in doubt as to whether Federer was the best Swiss player anymore, let alone the world.
It wasn't just a loss of form that was thought to be restricting the former world no.1, a decline bought about by the fearsome thirties looked to be irreversible. Tennis careers are short after all.
APOLOGY
I'll shamefully come clean and admit that earlier this year I believed Federer should have hung his racquet up. I thought we had already seen his best and that his form would only get worse with age and ruin his reputation.
How wrong was I though? - His comeback, of sorts, means he still has the potential to win that no.18 and can still officially be the world's best just one more time before calling a halt to proceedings. Indeed there is a chance that the latter could become so in the not too distant future.
RELATED ARTICLES
A stunning second-half to 2014 means that the 33-year-old can still overhaul new father Novak Djokovic as the world no.1 tennis player.
RANKING BATTLE
While the Serb has been adjusting to life with his first child, a newborn baby boy called Stefan, Federer has continued his great form with back-to-back titles in Shanghai and a personally-satisfying hometown triumph in Basle.
With just the Paris Masters and ATP World Tour Finals left on the tennis calendar for the year, the Swiss veteran can potentially pick-up enough points to down Djokovic.
I'm not too sure that many people would begrudge him of that mantle either.
Even if you're not a hardcore supporter of Federer, he just has that amazing likability factor. He seems like such a cool yet gracious guy, the sort you'd love to have as a best mate.
FAIRYTALE
The Wimbledon final this summer was a strange one. I think most of the tennis world would have secretly loved to have seen Federer finally get to number 18, but Djokovic displayed his unbeatable best in a five-set classic. The amazing outpour of effort from Federer, six years his opponent's senior, came to nothing, sadly.
It might not be the ultimate vindication for SW19 heartbreak, but how great would it be for Federer and his own growing family to tuck into their Christmas Turkey with good old Roger as the world's best once again.
One would suspect that he's at an age where he'll probably appreciate the sentiment a lot more than the last time he was no.1, almost two years ago to the day, especially when you consider he's stooped as low as eighth in that time.
I'm not trying to belittle Djokovic in any way at all, he too has had a wonderful year, aside from a few disappointments in the latter stages of the US and French Open, but come on Novak; you've got plenty of time to dominate once Federer goes, let him have one last go at the top!
Of course Federer will have to earn it, and lets hope they have some more epic battles in Paris and London before the year is out.
No comments:
Post a Comment